Telescoping pull-out side for trailers



C. R. L. JOHNSON Aug. 5, 1952 TELESCOPING PULL-OUT SIDE FOR TRAILERS Filed oet. 26, 1948 4 sneek-sheet 1 l .a 2 A 7.. .S

JNVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Aug- 5, 1952 Ac. R. L. JoHNsoN 2,606,057

' TELESCOPING PULL-OUT SIDE FOR TRAILERS IFiled Oct. 26, 1948. 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 F/ G. J1.

A BY l Patented Aug. 5, i952 TELESCOPIN-Qr PULL-OUT SIDE FOR TRAILERS Y Charles R. L, Johnson, Woodward, Okla.` Application October 26, 1948, Serial No, 56,543 ,s claims.` (c1. 296-23)v This invention relates to trailers and extensions therefor, and particularly for telescopmg pull-out sides for trailers.

The main object of my invention is to vprovide a trailer with a telescoping side portion or chamber which may be pulled out or extended to enlarge and widen a chamber inA the trailer.

Another object is to provide the telescoping side portion of the trailer with extensible supporting Wheels for supporting the side portion when the latter occupies a pulled-out or extended position.

A further object is to provide a trailer and the telescoping side portion thereof with guide rails and rollers to facilitate pulling out and telescoping of the telescoping side portion with respect to the main portion of the trailer.

It is also an object to provide the trailer and the telescoping side portion thereof with resilient insulating members or battens to prevent entry of rain or the like between them, and the telescoping side portion with a closure plate forming a seal for the trailer when the side portion is telescoped or withdrawn into it.

An additional object is to employ light wood strips with plywood or metal bars or strips with light sheet metal for constructing the trailer and the telescoping side portion thereof to produce a light and strong structure.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear in further detail as the specification proceeds.

In order to facilitate ready comprehension of this invention for a proper appreciation of the salient features thereof, the invention is illustrated on the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a trailer'having a telescoping and extensible side portion made according to the invention and embodying the same in a practical form;

Figure 2 is a transverse section of the trailer and telescoping side portion when pulled out orV extended, the section being taken on line 2 2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the mutually-adjacent floor portions of the trailer and the telescoping side portion;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary enlarged section of the roof portion of the trailer as seen in Figure 2 and a portion ofV the roof of the telescoping portion in extended position;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 5 5 in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail in section taken on line 6 6 in'Figure 1 to illustrate insulation;

Figure 7 is another enlarged fragmentary section, taken on line '1 -'l in Figure 1, showing detail referring to insulation;

Figure 8 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale taken on line 8-8 in Figure 2;

Figure 9 is a transverse section takenron line,

9-9 in Figure 8; v

Figure 10 is an enlarged fragmentary detail section on an enlarged scale, illustrating a re'i tractable supporting wheel -for the telescoping side portion ofthe trailer; Y

Figure 1l is a side elevation of the same mecha anism shown in Figure `10, as seen fr om the,y the supportright when a door is open to expose ing wheel to view;

Figure 12 is a transverse section takenon line l2-l2 in Figure 11.

Throughout the viewsv the Y same reference,

numerals indicate the same or like parts.

Trailers having become popular, thev question Upon considering this problem, has occurred to me that although a trailer is transportable,A it should nonetheless be capable of being ex-v tended or enlarged when a trailer campV or other selected site is reached in order to make the trailer more spacious and livable. -As a result. I have found it quite feasible to produce a trailer having an extensible telescoping side portion for enlarging the capacity and ravailable space. in t-he trailer at will, as will now be more fi 1l-ly l described.

Hence, in the kpractice of `my invention, and referring again tothe accompanying drawings, a, trailer outerA body, generally indicated at 14, is provided with twol pairs of supporting .wheelsl` i5, l5 oneach side mounted on spring-and-axle structures I6, I6 secured beneath thefloor Iv'i of the trailenvwhile at the for-ward endi a hitch I9, only partly shown, vserves to connect the trailer to the rear end of yan automobile.` In order vto accommodate the wheels I5,Y i5 within the outline of the trailer, the latter is provided in the side Walls 20vwith a Wheel boxor well 2l, lthe wall 22, `referring to a part 'about to be described, having a corresponding-Wheel` boxV or well 23. The wall -20 (Figure 2) in cornfmon with the wall 24. opposite thereto (Figure 1), as well as the front and rear walls 2,5 -and:2v6., includes a spaced group of vertical studs or f stringers 21, 21, best seen in Figures, and groups of vertically-spaced horizontal studs 28, 28

having an outer sheath 29 of plywood or sheetv metal and provided with an interiorwall:sheety of plywood ormetal 30 resulting in a light yet strong structure serving as a Wall in veach lcase with suiiicient body to resist strains andimapacts. The Wheel box structure 2l, issimilarlyconstructed with the vlower outer wall sheetsf 3|, the interior spacing studsw32, I33, 34 and inner wall sheetsf35, 3S. A similar construction,

as just now outlined for the Wall 20 also holds for the opposite Wall 24 and the end'walls 25 and 26, such structure per se being more or less conventional and practical for the purpose.

The floor |1 of the trailer is, of course, typical, including the floor boards supported by the bottom floor studs or beams 38.

4| and the interior roof plywood or sheet metal 42. An intermediate portion of the roof 39 is raised or peaked at 43 supported by transverse bars or rails 44 connected to a roof frame 45 surrounding and defining an opening indicated at 46, now to be described.

In the wall 24 is an arch portion-indicated at 46 intermediately disposed and normally covered by a ange or frame consisting of the vertical plates 41, 48 and the upper horizontal plate 49 secured to an intermediate wall section 22 by means of screws, nails or rivets 5| and detachably connected to the wall sections of wall 24 by means of a series of wing nuts 52, 52 screwed upon the outer threaded ends of bolts 53, 53 projecting from Wall 24 about the arch 46. The mentioned intermediate wall section 22 is similarly constructed to the structural features of wall 20 previously described and has a series of windows 54, 54 corresponding to the windows 55 in the mentioned wall 20, and also resembling the latter in having a wheel box or well 23 similar to the wheel box or well 2| of wall 20, as already outlined. In order to cover the wheels,

the Walls 20 and 22 have the outer wall sheet orv layer closed upon the outside of the wheel boxes 2| and 23 by means of a downward extension of the outer sheet 29 in the case of Wall 20, as shown at 50, while in the case of wall 22, a plate 56 is attached to the wall 22 by screws 51, 51, so that the plate may be detached when desired. The Wall 22 with its interior studs 58, 59, outer wall sheet 60 and inner wall sheet 6| of metal or plywood forms the outer wall of the telescoping or pull-out side portion generally indicated at 62. This pull-out telescoping portion includes a floor generally indicated at 63 consisting of a series of floor boards 64 supported upon the relatively light oor joists 65, a roofconsisting of the outer roof portion 66 of plywood or sheet metal, the inner reinforcing strips 61 and the internal ceiling sheet 68 of sheet metal or ply- Wood comparableto :door and the ceiling or roof portions extending to and being secured to the wall 22, first described. At the forward end of the extension or telescoping member 62 is a forward wall exteriorly having a sheet metal or plywood layer 69 and spaced withinthe latter the inner Wall sheet 10, while rearwardly thesame extension is provided with a corresponding rear wall including the outer wall sheet or surface 1|, and spaced within the latter the inner wall surface 12. The previously-mentioned front wall is provided with an appropriate door frame 13 in which is fitted a door 14 with an upper glass panel and conventional door knob 16', as best seen in Figure 2. Upon the inner ends of the front and rear walls of the telescoping Vand extensible side portion or chamber 62 is tt'ed an end frame 16 of which'the lower horizontal portion 11 forms an end closure or frame for the floor 64, while the upper portions of frame 16 are formed into an archway 18 to improve the appearance of the interior of the trailer. Upon the sides 16 of the mentioned end frame forming the closure means for the front andrear walls are attached rubber strips or gaskets 19, while a The roof 39 in-v cludes the outer sheeting 40, the roof stringers similar rubber strip 80 secured at the upper portion of the arch serves to form a resilient cushion or stop for the inner end of the telescoping pullout side or chamber 62 when the same is extended.k Further rubber side strips or battens 8| are secured upon the interior of wall 24 of the trailer about the opening 46 in said wall by the inner ends of bolts 53 and normally wiping against the f outer front and rear walls 69 and 1I of the telescoping side portion or chamber 62 and the similar horizontal rubber batten or strip 82 secured to an upper horizontal strip 83 in the opening immediately below the roof rail 44 by the upper bolt 53 in effective position to seal the trailer with the upper surface 66 of the roof of the extensible portion or member 62, all of which details are best seen in Figures 6 and 7, and the rubber strips or battens described serve to provide a weather seal about the telescoping pullout side portion or chamber 62 in withdrawn or extended position thereof, and particularly with reference to the latter in order to prevent the entry of water or cold air into the trailer. Normally, the telescoping pull-out portion 62 extends Wth its inner end substantially tothe broken line indicated at 83 in Figure 2, with the outer end wall 22 thereof substantially in line with wall 24 of the trailer proper, as also indicated in said Figure 2.

In order to facilitate pulling ou the extensible telescoping portion or inner body 62 and thereby provide an enlarged living room in the intermediate portion oi the trailer, groups of rollers are provided, as will now be desrribed, so that the parts moving with respect to each other are capable of smoothly rolling by and being guided by the rollers.

The outer end of the floor 31 of the trailer, which is also provided with a horizontal rubber strip 84 secured to the longitudinal wooden strip 85, is provided with a series of upwardly-extending roller fixtures 86, 86 secured to the floor studs 38 by means of screws or bolts 81 and provided with rollers 88 directly bearing against and supporting a floor bottom 89 of the iloor joists or strips 65 of the extensible iioor 64, 63 and supporting the floor boards 64 of the telescoping member 62. In corresponding manner, the series of inwardly-extending roller fixtures 90 are secured by bolts 9| beneath the floor boards 64 of floor 63 in the extensible member 62 with rollers 92 rolling directly upon the iloor boards 31 of the lower floor of the trailer proper, as partly shown in Figure 2, but better shown in larger detail in Figure 3. In Figure 4, are illustrated upwardly-projecting roller fixtures 93 secured to the inner frame 16 of the telescoping or extensible member 62 with rotatable rollers 94 engaging against the lower edge of the roof rails 44 of roof frame 45, the intermediate portions of these rails being reinforced bythe upper longitudinal peak bracing member 95 to stillen the rails, while at the corners adjacent the iixtures 93, as best seen in Figure 5, are secured additional roller fixtures 66 with rollers 91 rolling against the side rails 98 of the raised roof portion 43 immediately beneath the frame 45 thereof. As best seen in Figures 4 and 5, it may be noted that the first-mentioned rollers 94 engage directly against Athe lower edges of the rails 44 to cooperate with the lower rollers 68 and 92 beneath the floor, while rollers 91 engage against the sides in such fashion as to laterally guide the pull-out side portion or extensible member 62 while being extended. As also shown in Figure 8, correspondber 62 is then r'olled into its telesc'ope'd relation with the trailer |4 until the outer sealing or closure strips 41, 48, 49 upon the wall 22 thereof engage against the side wall 24 of the `trailer when the wing nuts 52 are again replaced upon the bolts 53 secured to the wall 24, the wheels I5 are then replaced on their axles to support the axleand-spring structure I6 at the right side and the plate 56 replaced in position to partly cover the mentioned wheels with the screws 51, 51 again holding the pla-te. The blocks |38 are then removed and doors |02 opened and nuts |33 released so that the Yhydraulic wheel xtures |20 may again be swung up into vertical position, as shown in Figures l0 and l1, and the nuts |33 then tightened again to hold the shank |2| rigidly vertical between the arms |5,Yafter which the doors |92 vare again closed and the latches |04 secured, when the trailer will be immediately in form to proceed and be drawn by the automobile connected thereto by the hitch I9.

The forward portion of the trailer having the window |39 may serve as a kitchen, while the rear portion contiguous to the rear wall 26 may serve as a bedroom if so desired. In this connection, it is to be noted that either or both of the front or rear portions of the trailer may be made extensible so as to pull out instead of the one side as shown and described, or both sides may be extensible, if desired.

The wall structures described may, of course, be modied by making them entirely of metal instead of having any portion thereof of Wood, without departing from the spirit of my invention. Again, while I have described hydraulic jacks for controlling the positions of wheels |32, obviously screw jacks may be used which are manually, mechanically, or electrically operated.

Manifestly, other variations may be resorted to and parts and features may be modified or used without others within the scope of the appended claims.

Having now fully described my invention, I claim:

1.1n an automobile trailer, a mobile outer trailer body provided with a rectangular opening in one side wall thereof, an inner trailer body positioned within said outer trailer body and mounted in the latter for extensile movement with respect to said one side wall, said inner trailer body including a side wall normally disposed in coextensive relation with respect to said one side wall of said outer trailer body, there being a pair of side by side spaced wheel wells provided in said inner trailer body opening into the bottom and said one side wall thereof, a wheel positioned within each of said pair of wheel wells and mounted therein for rocking movement to an extended position for supporting said inner trailer body, a sealing frame normally overlying the marginal edge of said side Wall of said inner trailer body and the adjacent bounding portions ci said one side wall of said outer trailer body and detachably secured thereto, and closure means bridging each of the wheel Wells and mounted on said side wall oi said inner trailer body for swinging movement into and out of closing relation with respect to said wheel wells. y

2. In an automobile trailer, a mobile outer trailer body provided with a rectangular opening in one side wall thereof, an inner trailer body p0- sitioned within said outer` trailer body and mounted in the latter for extensile movement with respect to said onev side Wall, said inner trailer-body including a side -Wall normally dis-v posed in coextensive relation with respect to said one side wall of said outer trailer body, there being a pair of side by side spaced wheel wells provided in said inner trailer body opening into the bottom and said oneside wall thereof, a Wheel positioned Within each of said pair of wheel wells and mounted therein for rocking movement to an extended position for supporting said inner trailer body, a sealing frame normally overlying the marginal edge of said side Wall of said inner trailer body and the adjacent bounding portions of said one side wall of said outer trailer body and detachably secured thereto, closure means bridging each of the wheel wells and mounted on said side wall of said inner trailer body for swinging movement into and out of closing relation with respect to said wheel wells, and means interposed between said inner and outer trailer bodies for limiting the extensile movement of said inner body with respect to said outer body.

3. In an automobile trailer, a mobile outer trailer body provided with a rectangular opening in one side wall thereof, an inner trailer body positioned within said outer trailer body and mounted in the latter for extensile movement with respect to said one side Wall, said inner trailer body including a side wall normally disposed in coextensive relation with respect to said one side wall of said outer trailer body, there being a pair of side by side spaced wheel wells provided in said inner trailer body opening into the bottom and said one side wall thereof, a wheel positioned within each of said pair of wheel wells and mounted therein for rocking movement to Van extended position for supporting said inner trailer body, a sealing frame normally overlying the marginal edge of said side wall of said inner trailer body andthe adjacent bounding portions of said one side Wall of said outer trailer body and detachably secured thereto, closure means bridging each of the wheel wells and mounted on said side wall of said inner trailer body for swinging movement into and out of closing relation with respect to said Wheel wells, means interposed between said inner and outer trailer bodies for limiting the extensile movement of said inner body with respect to said outer body, and means operatively connected to said inner and outer trailer bodies for detachably securing said inner body in its supported position within said outer trailer body.

CHARLES R. L. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 862,573 Mears et al. Aug. 6, 1907 1,521,635 Lewis -Jan, 6, 1925 1,972,415 Anderson Sept. 4, 1934 2,122,791 Bollstrom July 5, 1938 2,127,580 Bartholowsky Aug. 23, 1938 2,136,130 Gorlenko Nov. 8, 1938 2,150,615 Sword Mar. 14, 1939 2,225,319 Rollo Dec. 17, 1940 2,306,084 Rollo Dec. 22, 1942 2,355,663 McGlothlin Aug. l5, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 243,878 Great Britain Deo. 10, 1925 447,229 Germany July 19, 1927 602,976 Germany Sept. 20, 1934 

